


Aren’t We All Just Broken Glass?

by 2Wedensay



Category: RWBY
Genre: (maybe), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Soldiers, Depression, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Multi, Other, Pain, Racism, Slavery, Slavery AU, Slow Burn, Trauma, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Wedensay/pseuds/2Wedensay
Summary: The Human-Faunus War lasted for 4 years.It ended only a month ago.The Faunus were defeated and left almost extinct. War brings out the worst in us all and those lucky enough to survive are neither innocent nor unscathed.Blake Belladonna had seen much over those 4 years. She’d done horrible things. She’d done more than just killed. She’d executed, she’d tortured, she’d lost herself. Between the cruelty of the world and the brutality of the war, she’d died. Now she got to live out the rest of her days, enslaved to a woman who brings up every last demon from her past.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos
Comments: 13
Kudos: 62





	1. New Life

“I don’t why we don’t just kill the lot of you.” The handler grumbled. He was a thirty-something year old man, overweight and with short cropped red hair. His army uniform barely fit him but in recently, the problem of clothing not fitting had fallen far by the wayside. If it wasn’t on its last legs then it was good enough.

“Slavery didn’t work the first time and it won’t work a second time, mark my words.” He half mumbled, half told to the group of chained up Faunus behind him as they bumbled along a cracked road in the converted truck he was driving. This area apparently hadn’t seen much in the way of fighting but not much was still a lot when artillery was involved. The truck was military vehicle, one that had seen many battles. It’s white paint was chipped and almost torn away completely, the brackets for cargo storage had been ripped out and replaced with one large cage with many chains. It had been supplied from Atlas and this truck was one of the few vehicles that had made it through the entire war. Something that was beyond rare. Because of this fact, it was essentially outdated and on its way to be scrapped. Technology had developed vastly in the war and this battered old Atlas truck was considered beyond antiquated. It was now very far from its northern homeland as it drove across a bridge on the south coast of Vale towards a small island known as Patch. The handler was delivering Faunus, wild beasts, prisoners of war, slaves or what ever other names people liked to call them.

There were four Faunus in the cage in the back. All of them of varying species and age. All of them starved, hurt and weak. They were wearing torn and stained grey overalls and each one had a numbered collar upon their neck. It was thick, made from steel and rubbed badly. They were all muzzled. The journey continued for the next two hours like it had been going for the previous three. Silent, except from the rumbling of the old engine and the comments from the Human driver. They stopped every now and then and at each one the man parked the truck and got out. He moved to the back and removed a Faunus roughly each time and each time, he and one of those said Faunus would walk over to a nearby house for them to be given to their new owners. There was no defiance, no struggle. The creatures had lost their hope and been put in their place.

Patch itself contained one settlement, it was named after the island. It as bigger than a town but smaller and much poorer than a city. The islands inhabitants were mainly farmers and miners and the island produced a sizeable amount food and Dust for the war effort. The island also produced a good few Huntsman and Huntresses, whom after initially saying they would be neutral in the war effort, ultimately became the weapon that allowed the Human race to slaughter the Faunus and win the war.

Eventually, after a few more stops there was only the red headed, overweight driver and one other Faunus, who was still chained up in the back. She was a skinny thing, her overall hanging on her like a sheet. She was young, fifteen years old at most. Her hair was a mess of greasy black locks which had not been washed and untangled for months. Her eyes were a dull bronze. 

They had left the main streets of Patch a while ago and had been travelling down a road that led into the suburbs and then finally just into the edge of the countryside. The truck pulled off of the road and drove through a clearing in a burned, almost lifeless, forrest. The man parked for the final time in his long journey in front of a relatively large wooden house that sat in this lonely place. With a sigh and a stretch, he got out of his seat and wandered over to the back. He produced his scroll from his pocket and opened the cage.  
“Alright 931,” He read from her collar, “This is your stop.” He removed her chains but left her wrists bound together. She offered no resistance.

They walked off of the truck and the man shoved 931 forward towards the house. She understood what to do and limped ahead in front of him. There were two large windows at the front, the light from the low sun reflected off of them so neither the Faunus nor the handler could see what awaited them inside the building. They arrived at the door, which was made from a dark, rich wood which contrasted heavily from the lighter logs of the house’s walls. He knocked upon it and after a brief few seconds it opened. Standing in the hallway was a young woman. Around twenty years old, with long blonde hair and wearing a green poncho that covered most her frame. She rested her hand against the opened door and looked at the Faunus coldly. The Faunus didn’t bother looking back, instead she simply stared at her feet. The blonde haired woman looked up at the man and took out her scroll then the transaction was performed. 931 didn’t really listen and the two discussed her. He transferred her details from his scroll to her’s which gave the blonde access to information such as the Faunus’s weight and height as well as more important things like the electronic lock to her handcuffs and the shock function in her collar. When their discussion finished and both parties were satisfied, the handler with his money and the blonde with her slave, 931 was pushed inside and the woman shut the door.

The blonde haired woman checked over the details on her scroll a few times and the placed it back in her jean pocket which was hidden under the poncho. She gently placed her hand under the Faunus’s chin and raised her her head so her bronze eyes met her lilac. She stared at her for a few moments. There was a harshness in both their eyes. The blonde haired woman let go of her and 931 took this time to look around. The inside of the house was surprisingly well furnished. It was open plan with the only real structures being the front door, the back door and the wide staircase in the middle of the room. On the left was filled with two brand new looking couches, an ornate wooden chair and a large flat screen TV which sat on the mantle piece above a fire place. This whole setup wrapped around the stairs and lead to the large, shiny and well furnished kitchen on the right. The walls were adorned with photos, paintings and canvasses and the rest of the downstairs, the space from the stairs to the door, seemed just to be open space which could used for just about anything.

It would be an impressive sight pre-war never mind post-war. The blonde haired woman walked coed to one of the couches and sat down on one side. She gestured for 931 to sit next to her. With hesitancy the young Faunus girl did as, who she supposed was her new master instructed (although the size of the building made her think that more than one person might live there.) She sat, her body tense, unsure of how this woman would treat her. Humans weren’t known for their kindness towards their slaves.

The blonde haired woman cleared her throat and then began to speak.  
“Okay. Let me introduce myself: my name is Yang Xiao Long. I’m your Master. Now I’m going to take that muzzle off of you so we can have a conversation about how things are going to work around here.” She paused and leaned towards the Faunus, “But if I take it off, you need to promise me you’re not going to bite, does that sound fair?” 931 nodded her head but gave no other response, no indications of any emotion. With one hand, Yang pressed the safety release catch of the muzzle and there was a click as it came undone. She slowly removed it from the Faunus’s mouth and then lifted it off of her face, placing it on the glass coffee table adjacent to the sofa. 931 opened and closed her mouth, making faces as she stretched her jaw. The blonde haired woman smiled. “Now what’s your name?” 931 just stared at her blankly.

“Don’t you already know it?” 931 dug her bound hands into her legs. If this woman knew who she was then what was she planning to with her? However the Faunus’s train of thought was interrupted when Yang spoke again,  
“I know but I think it would be nicer if you told me it so we properly got to meet each other.” She smiled again, a polite gesture but her eyes still looked cold. 931 swallowed, her cat ears twitching. She held her breath.   
  
“Ilia. My name is Ilia Amitola.” Her own voice sounded so weak in the Faunus’s mind. So childlike. So helpless. The blonde haired woman held out her hand to shake it and 931 let out her breath in relief. Adam’s final gift had worked. Although bound, she did her best to shake Yang’s hand. The hand she had noticed, that had been used for everything. Opening the door, taking out her scroll, unclipping the muzzle. It was like…

  
“So you’ve noticed?” The blonde woman sighed, her eyes looking around the room out of a mixture of boredom and..the Faunus would guess..sadness. Yang lifted her poncho with her arm and revealed the stump that was her other. Her right arm ended above the elbow. It was gone, completely none existent and it took 931 a few seconds to actually realise what she was seeing was real.

Amputation wasn’t uncommon during the war but the sight of it still got to her. She shook herself out of it and stopped staring.

The blonde chuckled at her actions,  
“Don’t worry, it freaks a lot of people out.” She dropped her poncho to cover her missing arm, “It still freaks me out sometimes.” She mumbled under her breath, thinking the Faunus couldn’t hear. But she could. “Anyway the replacement should be coming some time soon but until then I need some help so that’s why you’re here.” Yang gestured to the Faunus. “Now don’t worry, when the arm comes I’ll still keep you around. Even with two arms I wasn’t very good at keeping things tidy around here.” She laughed at her own joke, pleasant memories coming back to her. “Now why don’t I give you a tour so you-“

“How did it happen?” 931 asked abruptly, staring deep into the blonde’s lilac eyes with her bronze ones that appeared to have gotten slightly brighter. Like there was flicker of life behind the Faunus’s eyes. Yang, was slightly taken aback by her slave’s actions and most Masters would punish being interrupted and who knows she might in the future since if there’s one thing Yang Xiao Long hates, its being interrupted. But the Faunus was new and it was a question she got asked a lot, so she let it slide. With a sigh she answered.

  
“I was a Huntress. I still am to some extent but I don’t know what the world wants to do with Hunters and Huntresses anymore, especially one missing an arm.” The blonde saw 931 physically stiffen when she said the word Huntress, that was something to be expected. The little raven haired girl was probably terrified of the very idea of them, to Faunus kids like her they must be like the monsters hiding under the bed. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about Huntresses but I can assure you I won’t hurt you.” She said in attempt to calm the girl. 931 nodded carefully.

  
“It’s okay…I know.” Yang gave the Faunus’s hands a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sorry you had to grow up during this awful war. I can’t imagine what any of this is like for an innocent child like you.” 931 nodded again. This time not speaking, a lump getting stuck in her throat. The word innocent when applied to her was laughable. If only this Yang girl knew who she was talking to...


	2. Overreactions

“And that’s it. So just to remind you: You are not allowed in the attic and you’re allowed in this room here.” Yang pointed to the door directly behind her. Both it and the attic had industrial padlocks on them and 931 had no idea where the keys were. “So Ilia, any questions? And don’t ask my me why you can’t go in there, you just can’t.”

“No questions…Miss? Mistress? Master?” The blonde haired woman thought for a moment for a good pronoun to be called by her slave.

“Miss probably. Yeah call me Miss.” She clapped her hands and nodded. “Okay that’s the tour why don’t you head back downstairs and wait for me, there’s a few things I need to grab up here.” 931 nodded and trudged over to the staircase, Yang looked at her as she moved. Pitying her the girl’s physical weakness due to starvation and mistreatment.

The Faunus had learned that the upstairs of the new house in which she loved was the opposite of its opposite of its open plan downstairs. The first floor was a hallway with five doors. Three of those doors contained bedrooms with en-suites, one of which was Yang’s while one lead to presumably another set of stairs and the attic while the other contained who knows what. Miss didn’t want to let her know and in all honesty 931 really didn’t care. When she was younger she loved a good mystery, she’d read mystery novels all the time. But now, now they really didn’t matter to her. She knew too much about the world and it’s so called mysteries.

The Faunus supposed things could be worse. The house was quite nice and Yang, for a human, seemed quite reasonable. Although she was a Huntress which gave her a bad feeling in her gut, she didn’t seem to be a particularly cruel one. 931 just had to do housework and essentially be good and she wouldn’t be punished. However the blonde haired woman did say she would not hold back if she had to use the shock collar and if she ever tried to kill her or any of her friends/loved ones Yang said she would not hesitate to end her. It sounded fair to 931. The fact that it did would disgust her younger self. The Faunus stood alone downstairs. She dully looked clear at the numerous paintings on the wall. She thought they were nice. All different, with some being highly realistic portraits of landscapes and others being stylised drawings of people and other animals but they all shared one thing in common: They looked very expensive. 931 made a mental note to not touch them.

She heard Yang coming down the stairs before she saw her. The Faunus turned and saw the woman carrying a bundle of clothing.  
“Ilia, here are some old clothes. Why don’t you change out of that thing.” She was talking about the overall, it was a mess. The blonde was right, it was a mess. 931 looked down at it in all of its torn and stained glory. Due to its size, it was more of a loose tarp than anything else. Yang held out the clothes to her and with slightly hesitancy due to suspicion, the Faunus took them from her. She stood there for a few moments hands bound with clothes in hand and finally the the blonde realised the problem. “Oh right, just place those on the couch and I’ll undo your cuffs.” 931 complied and neatly deposited the bundle before turning back to face her owner, who was already waiting with her scroll in hand. “Like with muzzle, before I take this off, you need to promise me that you won’t punch or scratch when your hands are free. Is that clear?” The Faunus nodded. Yang sighed. “Can you say it? Can you promise me you won’t punch or scratch?” She held up her scroll, anticipating the Faunus’s response.  
  
“I promise not to punch or scratch…” Yang raised an eyebrow, “…Miss.” She smiled.

“Wonderful!” Yang tapped a button on her scroll and with a buzz, the cuffs came loose. 931 removed them and placed them on the table next to the muzzle, she then picked the bundle of clothes up again. “Those should fit you and in hindsight I probably should have just given those to you before we came downstairs.” The blonde chuckled, “Silly me. But I want to really get started so why don’t you just go behind the pillar and change. That’s an order.” She chuckled again, “Sorry. I’m sure you know what I mean.” The Faunus did. Silently, she moved behind the pillar and inspected the clothing her owner had provided her with. A faded yellow top, a brown jacket, a pair of trousers that were slightly worn, underwear (something the Faunus was more than relieved to have since the overall didn’t come with any). 931 concluded that these were some of Yang’s old clothes which was to be expected and honestly the Faunus couldn’t complain since even a few months ago her own clothes hadn’t been to such a degree of quality. They were stained with mud and blood and….don’t think about that. 931 shook her head again, trying to purge those thoughts from her mind.

She began to change. The Faunus placed the clothes on the ground next to her and unzipped the front of her overall. She peeled it off her sweaty body, a gasp leaving her as the article of clothing brushed over a particularly tender wound on her shoulder. Yang, hearing the gasp, came round to see what the problem was and froze when she saw it.

“Stop!” She yelled. 931 jumped, not realising that the blonde was behind her and instinctively hid her bare chest, her eyes had a dangerous look in them. Like a cornered animal that was about to lash out. Yang, realising what the Faunus was thinking, felt her cheeks go red and mentally scolded herself.

“Wait! No I’m not some creep. I’m noting going to do anything like that! Just turn around so I can see your shoulder.” 931 was hesitant, her distrust being obvious. “Ilia, that’s an order.” The blonde woman sighed, not liking to resort to such a thing. Slowly and still covering herself, the Faunus turned so that her back was facing her Master, she craned her neck to look at her out of the corner of her eye, watching the blonde to see what she would do.

Yang wasn’t always the best at reading people but the signs that this was a sensitive matter were obvious, even to her. The blonde haired woman inspected the injury, with care of course. She saw that 931’s back was littered with scars, slashes, burns and bullet wounds littered her skin. Some of them looked old as well and from the data from her scroll she knew that the girl was only 15. When the was started she would only have been 11. Did she get some of theses when she was only just over a decade old? What kind of person would do that? Yang kept a mental note but focussed on the task at hand: her shoulder. There was a long and nasty cut that ran from her collar bone to her shoulder blade. It was red and inflamed most likely due to infection due to, what looked like, some very poor stitching. Probably done when she was captured by a Human who didn’t care less. Some of the stitches had torn and the wound was adorned with old crusted blood. She reached out to touch it and as soon as her fingers made contact with the wound 931 pulled away, spun round and got into a defensive position. She was no longer covering herself and her hands were out in front of her, in fists, ready to strike.

Yang realised that she might of just fucked up.

She held out her hand, in an attempt to calm the girl down.  
“It’s okay…it’s okay Ilia. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I was just checking it.” She took a few slow steps towards her in attempt to diffuse the situation. “I can help you-“ The blonde put her hand around one of 931’s fists and as soon as she did that, the other struck her face. Yang, caught off guard, helped and fell back. The was blood dripping down her face from her nose and instinctively, she reached for her scroll in her pocket, opened it and activated 931’s shock collar. The Faunus, didn’t think about hitting the blonde, it was just a reaction and now she payed for it.

It felt like fire filled her body as the collar activated. The Dust powered electricity brought her to the floor and brought screams from her lips. The usually quiet and reserved girl now produced a cacophony. Yang got to her feet, still holding down the shock button as she did so.

“I was just trying to help! You stupid animal!” She shouted, her hair glowing as she did so. 931 convulsed on the ground, her muscles moving painfully and involuntarily. What was only a around a minute for the blonde, felt like hours for the Faunus who began to feel tears fill her bronze eyes but she had enough pride not to cry…at least in front of Yang. However for Yang, after the initial adrenaline from being struck faded, she felt horrified. Her hair stopped glowing and she dropped her scroll on the floor, the shock function immediately disengaging. She stood there frozen, taking in the sight of the quivering child in front of her, the one she had just put into immense pain because she overreacted.

“Oh Yang, you idiot. You fucking idiot.” She cursed herself under her breath and then crouched down to 931, who was still recovering from the effects of the collar. Although it was no longer shocking her, a few rogue twitches and convulsions still ran through her body causing her breath to be faint and uneven. “Ilia, I’m so, so sorry.” The blonde wiped away the blood from her face. “You were scared and who wouldn’t be in your situation. I shouldn’t have shocked of you there, I had no idea how much it would hurt.” She reached out to touch the girl like before and this time she received a static shock in return.

931 raised her head off of the floor and through her messy and matted hair, she stared at Yang’s guilty face. With what little strength she had, the Faunus pushed herself off of the ground and over towards the side of the stairs so they could support her back as she sat against them. The blonde let her go, not making an attempt to stop her as she moved away.

“I’m sorry.” Yang’s voice cracked. She stood and wiped one of her eyes with her hand.

“Please just get changed, I’ll wait for you in the living room. Take as long as you need.” The blonde walked away and left 931 alone.The girl took some deep and steady breaths when her body allowed her to. Then she looked at the cloths that were all thrown around her. She looked up, looking at nothing in particular.

“So this is my life now. Maybe you got the easier option, huh Ilia?” She whispered. After 931 collected herself, she began to change. Saying good riddance to her overall as she did so. The trousers, yellow top and even the brown jacket fit her surprisingly well but soon she noticed blood soak through the material on her shoulder. She sighed, the stitches had come undone.

931 didn’t need a Human to help her. Especially a Huntress and especially one that had caused her stitches to reopen…after she had punched her…quite hard in the face. But it wasn’t her fault, she just lost it for a moment and for some reason even though she wasn’t and she knew she wasn’t, the slave Ilia Amitola was someone else who was somewhere else.

931 would probably have to bite the bullet. She couldn’t treat, restitch and dress the wound by herself. Who knows? Maybe Yang might just be like all the other Humans and just refuse to help her. It was worth a try and if it didn’t work then no one could say that the Faunus hadn’t tried. 931 limped around from behind the pillar, the overall bundled up in her hands and looked at the blonde who was just patiently waiting on the couch, staring at the floor. Yang hadn’t noticed her and the Faunus cleared her throat. The blonde’s head shot up and she gave her full attention to the Faunus.

“Could-“ She started again, “Could you-no.” Now 931 started to stare at the floor. “Could you help me deal with my shoulder…please…Miss.” Yang stood instantly, a forced smile on her face and in her voice.  
  
“Sure! Sure! Just take a seat for me! I’ll grab the first aid kit.” She hurried off to the kitchen and 931 wandered slightly before sitting down, still holding her old grubby overall. Yang came back even quicker than she had gone away. It was a big green thing and the blonde placed it right next to the Faunus on the couch. With surprising speed and ease for someone with one arm, she opened it. 931 looked inside of it and saw that calling it a first aid kit was like calling an Alpha Beowolf a cub. It was packed with tools, plasters, gauze, bandages, medicine, antibiotics and the list went on and on. Yang picked out a small piece of bandage, scrunched it up and put it up her still bleeding nose in order to stop the flow. She smiled again at the Faunus

“Now before I do anything. Are you entirely comfortable with me touching your shoulder?” Yang held up her hand cautiously, trying through her body language, to emphasise to the girl that she meant her no harm. The Faunus looked down at her feet and then forced herself to look up and make eye contact with blonde.

“Yes.” Was all she said.

“Okay, great!” Yang picked out a small torch from the first aid kit. “Can you shift your T-shirt to the side for me. You might have to give me a little hand.” She chuckled, “Pun very much intended.”


	3. Vitriol

With help from one of 931’s hands and the first aid kit, the wound on the Faunus’s shoulder was cleaned, restitched and bandaged. Yang had given the Faunus some minor painkillers for the stitches…and for any pain still lingering from the collar and some medicine, just in case the wound have gotten a little infected at all. Although in terms of infection, the wound was much less of a worry than the blonde had initially thought but it’s depth and size illustrated a much different story.

It would scar. It was like a Grimm had dug its claw into her shoulder and then ripped its claw right out again. But the precision and neatness of the cut suggested that a blade had done it and there were only a few types of people in this day and age who would seriously use a bladed weapon as oppose to a firearm. Yang believed this girl had been attacked either by a Faunus soldier, the Faunus used whatever weapons they could get their hands on in the war, which was highly unlikely since she herself was a Faunus. Or she’d been attacked by a Hunter of Huntress. The thought disgusted her but it was probably the truth.

“We’re all finished.” The blonde said as she lightly patted the bandaged wound that was well on this way to recovery.  
“Thank you.” 931 replied, that was all she had said the whole time. Yang took the empty equipment and put it in the first aid kit then she zipped the kit back up. The blonde picked by its handle and walked with it over to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry.” Yang stopped dead in her tracks. The Faunus girl started speaking again, “I shouldn’t of hit you. The blonde looked over at the girl, she looked so small.

“It’s okay. I’ll put this away and then we can have a talk about it.” 931 nodded in agreement. Yang binned the used equipment and placed the first aid kit back in the drawer she got it from. She made a mental note to replace the stuff the next time she went out to the shops. As the blonde walked back, she saw her scroll on the floor. Yang sighed. She picked it up and shook her head. The blonde scolded herself, she shouldn’t of shocked her and she shouldn’t of dropped her scroll. The Faunus looked at her as she returned and Yang took a seat on the couch opposite of the girl.

“So…about earlier-“ The blonde haired woman drew out the sentence, clearing not wanting to start the conversation. 931 looked at her, her bronze eyes heavy.

“I know I’m lucky. Lucky to be alive. Lucky to be here. And I know you’ll probably treat much better than lots of other Humans will treat a Faunus. I know that, I do. Humans for me are…difficult.” The Faunus’s voice sounded so hollow, not like she was lying but like there was no care behind it.

“Yeah. I will treat you well, I promise.” Yang nodded, “But I completely understand. Faunus are difficult for me to. A lot of things are. But anyway, I want to try and make the best of a bad situation. The world’s awful right now and it has been for the last 4 years but I want you to know that I get no pleasure out of causing you pain. I hated shocking you and I don’t want to do it. So please, can we get along?” 931 was silent for a while and so was the blonde haired woman.

Eventually she spoke,  
“That sounds fair. I’ll do my best. I honestly don’t know if we can get along but I’ll try.” Yang smiled.

“Thank you Ilia. Thank you.” She stood, “Do you want to come outside, it’s still warm and the back garden is nice. You can officially start tomorrow but for the rest of this evening, we can get to know each other.” The Faunus stood as well and followed the blonde haired woman as she led the way.

She grabbed a bottle of water on their way out and after giving 931 their location in the house, asked her to grab two glasses. Despite the view of burned trees, the outside patio was quite nice. There was a small glass table with three glass chairs. Like the wooden chair in the living room, they were ornately designed with many engravings. Yang sat at one and the Faunus sat at the other. The warm air felt nice and this was the first time she could truly appreciate it since she wasn’t crammed in a cage with the rest of race like she had been since the war had ended. The blonde haired woman unscrewed the cap of the bottle and filled each glass. She placed the bottle back in the middle of the table and took a long deep drink.  
“So Ilia, is there anything you want to ask me?” Yang offered as she leaned back and looked up and the slightly dull blue that was the evening sky. It took a few seconds for 931 to realise she was talking to her, the name Ilia still not registering as her own in her mind. However it wasn’t out of character for the young Faunus girl to be quiet.

She thought carefully before asking and decided on her question,  
“What does victory feel like?” The blonde haired woman was caught off guard by that and visibly stiffened when she heard it. That was one hell of a thing to ask. Like 931 with her question, Yang thought hard before answering.

“Disregard the house behind you, it was a gift.” Yang started, “But look at the forest around you. Does that look like a prize of war?” The forests was charred, the soil and its plant life dead. It would most likely be barren for the next few decades. Scorched earth. “Make no mistake the Humans won the war but it wasn’t a victory. If anything we lost. To be blunt, We lost a lot of people, we lost a lot of slaves and we lost a lot of land. Now, there exists an island in the world where the Faunus run free.” 931 glared at her as her tone implied that she hated the idea of that. The blonde haired woman cleared her throat and let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m fine with the last part, don’t worry. But as for the rest, all we did was lose. The whole Human race was much better off before the war. All we got out of it were a few new pieces of tech and whole lot of pain.” She finished her glass of water. “See a cruel master would have punished you for staring at me there but I’m nice and I think it’s okay. There will be hurdles, mishaps and misunderstandings and we will no doubt disagree on a lot of things but if we don’t resort to killing each other then all is well! Right?” Yang chuckled.

931 took a drink from her glass.  
“You said Humans we’re better off before the war. Is it wrong that the Faunus just wanted freedom? Are you going to make me apologise for wanting it like the world wants me and my brothers and sisters to do?” The blonde haired woman turned on her chair to face the girl.

“Ilia I didn’t mean it like that. The world is…complicated. You know I can’t release you, you’d just be hunted down and placed back into slavery or even killed! I think that on paper, fighting for freedom is a noble cause but some Faunus went about it the wrong way and that jeopardised it for the whole race.” 931’s grip on the glass tightened dramatically, so much that it almost cracked and shattered.

Yang clearly saw this,  
“Ilia please either put the glass down or calm down.” The blonde said softly.

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll do something that ‘jeopardise my whole race’ or what?” There was an unheard venom in the Faunus’s voice. The blonde haired woman had really fucked up now, she probably should have taken those extra credit pastoral classes at Beacon.

“No, I didn’t mean that. I’m bad with words Ilia. Can you please put the glass down.” Yang’s mindset now shifted to one of that of a soldier, she realised how defenceless she was. The Faunus could attack her much quickly with that glass than she could either take out her scroll of get away. 931’s grip on the glass tightened even further and she bared her teeth.  
“You were taking about the White Fang right?”

Their was tension in the air.

“Yes. Their leader Adam Taurus specifically.” 931 snarled. “That group from the start of the war to the end committed atrocity after atrocity.”

“At the start they just did what was necessary.” The Faunus stared at her, dead in the eye.

“No they didn’t. One of their first actions was a butchering of an entire village. They slaughtered, men, women and children.” 931 felt someone emerge from inside of her. Someone she hadn’t seen for quite a while: Blake Belladonna.

The 15 year old leaped off of her chair, over the table and crashed into Yang, bringing them both to the ground. She pinned the blonde’s only arm and broke the glass on the ground to make a weapon. The Huntress was paralysed on the ground with Blake on top of her pressing the sharpened glass against her throat, her scroll completely out of reach. Her heart was hammering in her ears but she didn’t let it show, the blonde had gotten out of worse situations. She stared up at the Faunus’s bringing gold eyes, through her now red ones.

“Ilia. Don’t. Do. This.” Was as she said. Yang, as she had fallen had activated her Semblance which allowed her to absorb damage, usually kinetic energy, and although unarmed and one armed, the collision with the Faunus and the ground had given her just enough energy to throw 931 off of herself if she had to. She didn’t want it to come to that of course. The Faunus simply pressed the glass harder against the blonde’s throat,

“Apologise!” She screamed.

“I said there’d be things we disagree on and I will never apologise for vocalising my opinions on the White Fang.” Without warning, her hair flowed gold and with immense strength, she flicked upwards and threw 931 off of herself. She threw her with enough force that the Faunus left the ground, only to return to it in a heap in the garden, now metres away from the blonde. Yang quickly got out her scroll and by the time she was about to push the shock button, the girl had also quickly gotten to her feet and now was charging at her, the broken glass in hand.

Yang pressed down on the button hard but just as she did, the Faunus spilt into two identical copies of herself and for a brief moment, the systems on the shock collar were confused by the two readings and didn’t go off no matter how much the blonde pressed it.

“What the fu-“ Yang said as the second 931 disappeared.

Before she could press the button again, the Faunus was on her. She dropped her scroll as the girl took a swing with the broken glass. The Faunus probably thought just because Yang only had one arm she couldn’t defend herself, how wrong she was. The blonde dodged 931’s slash and countered with a devastating punch to the girl’s stomach, there was enough force in it that the Faunus’s feet momentarily left the ground. Needless to say, she was completely winded and her weapon fell for her hand as she fell to her knees. Yang followed up her punch with a harsh chop on her the Faunus’s wounded shoulder which, although numbed by painkillers, still caused a great amount of pain.

The blonde picked up her scroll and pressed the button that enabled a shock feature, this was her final blow against 931 and the proceeding strength of the electricity knocked her out cold. Yang walked inside and grabbed the Faunus’s handcuffs, thinking about the whole situation as she did so. What the hell happened? She thought things were going so well. What was that two Ilia’s thing about? Something didn’t sit right with the blonde. She attached and closed the handcuffs on 931’s wrists and lifted her from the garden, moving her onto a couch inside the house. She checked to make sure her shoulder wasn’t bleeding again, which it wasn’t. Then she looked at the Faunus’s data on her scroll again and some subconscious gut instinct told that there was something wrong with this information. Was it possible for a Faunus to forge it? She didn’t know but she did know who would.

Yang turned to look at “Ilia,” she’d just have to wait until the girl woke up. The blonde sat down on the opposite couch and turned on the TV to pass the time.


	4. Steps, Both Back And Forward

The Faunus tried to be subtle when she woke up. However a creak in the couch gave her away and she felt the blonde’s furious eyes directly on her. Realising there was no point playing dumb, she sat up and let her eyes match her master’s. Yang turned off the TV and walked over to 931, she took out her scroll and held it tightly, her knuckles going white.

“It says here that your name is Ilia, you’re 15 years old and that you’ve never seen active combat. That you were a civilian who presumably aided her species in the war through deliveries, childcare and other menial tasks. Now tell me how much of that is true?” Gone was the politeness and remorse in her voice.

  
“All of it.” The Faunus said. Something almost snapped inside of Yang and she lunged before stopping herself. 931 didn’t even flinch…hardly the actions of a mere child.

  
“Considering most people can’t split in two, I’m going to call your bluff. Something like what you did out there would suggest a semblance.” She sighed, “and if it’s a semblance it means that it is more than likely that you…” She didn’t bother to finish the sentence. The answer hung heavy in the air. The answer was Yang’s biggest fear. The rumour she hoped was just a rumour and never true.

That the Faunus used child soldiers.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t really care if you try to hurt me. But if you tried to hurt anyone else then I couldn’t forgive myself.” She held up her scroll, “I hate using this but I will and I know you know I will.” 931 just glared back at her. “I don’t know what your plan was when you attacked me. You probably thought I couldn’t defend myself with only one arm but you were wrong.” The Faunus looked over to the side and scoffed, she was finished with the conversation. But Yang wasn’t. She pressed the button on her scroll for the briefest of seconds and for the briefest of seconds pain exploded in the girl’s collar. She jumped and yelled and her attention returned to the blonde. “Whatever the reason you were most certainly passionate.”

931 bared her teeth.  
“Passionate about freedom and those who fought for it like any other sane person.” The blonde stomped, all the war crimes The White a Fang committed soaring around in her mind like a hurricane.

“At the end the Faunus didn’t want freedom, they just wanted to take as many Humans down with them as they wanted!” She growled, spit flying from her mouth in fury. Her hair was glowing again.

“I. Hate. You.” 931 seethed. Her voice quiet but deadly. Yang placed her scroll in her pocket but then soon grabbed the Faunus by the hair and threw her against the ground. She landed badly since her hands were bound and was winded when she hit the floor. The blonde followed this up with a powerful kick to her stomach which caused the small, thin 15 year old girl to curl up in pain. As soon as she had done it, Yang realised how wrong that was. She turned around and walked to the other end of the house, leaving her slave in pain on the floor. What the fuck was wrong with her? She couldn’t keep losing her temper like this. She had to be better. She had to be better or they’d never let _her_ come back and stay. Everything was fine an hour ago, why did it all have to go so wrong. The blonde sighed and collected herself. The blonde walked over to 931, who was obviously still on the floor and she helped her to her feet, the Faunus wincing in pain as she did so.

She helped her to sit back down onto the couch and then Yang returned to her seat opposite.  
“You don’t know how much I wanted this to go well. I just wanted a person I could get along with and everything would be fine. When I saw a young girl like you for sale, I thought I could save you from some the other more horrible owners out there and-“ She was interrupted by the Faunus.

“You’re pretty horrible so far. You’ve shocked and beat me.” The blonde placed her hand to her forehead, tears glistening in her eyes.  
  
“I don’t mean to. You’ve been acting out. You attacked me!” Yang realised she had raised her voice to a yell and immediately quieted down. “Sorry. You see not many masters apologise. But I do. But that’s not the point. I’m angry. I’ve always been angry and ever since the war and my arm and everything else, I’ve just gotten so much more angry. I thought you were quiet at first but it seems you’re just as angry.” She loosely gestured towards the Faunus, who had both a pained and angry expression in her face. “Look I just want you to know that I’m trying to be better.” Yang looked down at her feet. “But I need to know who you are. I need to know more than just your number. I feel like if I can trust someone, I’ll be better,” she looked up, “but I can’t trust you at all at the moment.”

“Look, if you’re lying to me and you’re hiding something, I will find out.” The Faunus raised an eyebrow sceptically. “Yeah I wouldn’t believe me either. But remember how I said this house was a gift? It was a grift from the Schnees. Weiss Schnee is actually a very good friend of mine.” 931’s eyes widened in shock. “Since they now organise the Faunus slave operation, I’m just one phone call away from finding out whether your information is full of shit or not.” The Faunus actively felt her heartbeat increase. Adam’s gift was good but it wouldn’t be good enough to hold up against a direct inspection. If she was found out and the Schnees of all people put the dots together…there would be hell to pay. 931 gulped and Yang realised she had her slave in a corner. The girl sighed and looked up at her master.

“My name is Blake.” She said slowly, thinking carefully about how she answered the question, not wanting to give too much information away. “The identity you were given was fake. Ilia was the name of my friend.” The blonde moved from her seat so she could sit next to the Faunus, it was a risk since she may attack her again but Yang did it anyway, she had to be better. If worst came to worst she had to endure being attacked and not lose her temper and do something stupid that she’d regret.

“Okay Blake, why did you lie? How did you lie?” The blonde asked utterly perplexed, “It should have been impossible.” The Faunus looked over to the woman on her side, there was still anger in both of them but it had calmed ever so slightly.

“Like you said with your house, it was a gift.” Yang grumbled, that wasn’t really an answer.

“Not to be callous but is Ilia-“ She was interrupted again,  
  
“Yes.” The blonde sighed and Blake looked away from her, done with the conversation again.

“Alright Blake, that’s a start. I hope things will get better between us as time goes on.” She reached out her hand to touch the Faunus’s shoulder, who pulled away immediately. “I’m just checking to make sure the wound isn’t reopen.” Blake realised that there was a good chance that might have happened due to their “scuffling.”

She relented and let her master see her shoulder. The stitches had held it was fine. Yang was relieved.  
“I have one more question and then I won’t push any further tonight Blake. However I would appreciate if you didn’t interrupt me and if you addressed me. Do you think you can do that?” The blonde asked as she stood.

“Fine…Miss.” Blake mumbled.

“Why did you get so angry when I mentioned The White Fang?” The Faunus looked up at her and without blinking, without hesitation she answered.

“Because Ilia was a member of The White Fang.” It was a half lie. She was a member but only for a time and definitely not as long as Blake. Herself being a member was something that she would rather take to the grave than tell the Huntress standing in front of her.

Yang took the revelation that her slave, was in her mind, presumably close friends with a member of a terrorist organisation surprisingly well. She didn’t act shock or yell but just offered her hand in order to help Blake stand. The Faunus stood on her own.

“Doesn’t that information disturb you?” Now it was the girl’s turn to be confused.

“Not really, we all have bad friends. People we stick by because we know them no matter what they do. I’m guessing she taught you how to access your semblance.” Blake nodded. Again another half lie.

“Thought so.” Yang yawned and rubbed her face, “it’s late. I’m going to bed and you’re coming with me.” Blake’s eyes widened, what the hell was she implying. The blonde saw this reaction and her own eyes went wide. “No not like that. It’s because I still don’t trust you and if keep you in my room you can’t grab a knife from the kitchen or something or try to break a window and run.” She held up her hand pointed directly in the Faunus’s face. “Also it’s Miss.” The blonde sighed, “come on, I’m tired.” She turned and started walked and the Faunus stood begrudgingly followed. She wasn’t really tired but figured today had been enough for both of them.

They went upstairs and things went surprisingly smoothly from there on. Yang brushed her teeth, commenting on how she’d get Blake one tomorrow. Then they went to her room where the blonde changed into her nightwear while the Faunus faced the wall. Blake studied the three photos that were hung up upon it. The first seemed rather old and showed a smiling family. There were four people, two parents and two kids. The blonde girl who seemed to be around 10 had to be Yang, she had a bright smile and was hugging the other child closely. She never knew her Master had a sister. If the blonde had a family, why did she live alone? The Faunus didn’t need to be told the answer to figure it out.

The second photo was what looked like a whole school photograph, she spotted Yang instantly since her long mane of blonde hair stuck out like a sore thumb. She looked much older in it than she did the in the last one and was probably a teenager in it. Maybe it was her first day at Huntress school or whatever it was called? There was another face that Blake recognised in the photo, a girl with long dark red hair and bright emerald. The Red Death of the Faunus. She moved onto the next photo, not wanting to look at her.

The third and final photo was different to the rest. It was just two people standing and smiling and if Blake wasn’t mistaken it was a selfie. A selfie taken by Yang who looked pretty much the same as she did now, although she had two arms. Evidently the most recent photo. The blonde was smiling happily and hugging the person next to her. That person was unmistakably Weiss Schnee. Blake gulped, the blonde wasn’t lying. Her and Weiss Schnee were good friends. If the Faunus had tried to call her bluff then she’d called the Schnees thens she would have been as good as dead.

Her master’s close relationship with, aside from General Ironwood, the most powerful people in the world certainly made things more complicated. It meant Blake would have to stay on her toes and be very careful about what and how much she gave away which would be very tricky since Yang seemed to want her to open up about everything. Speaking of Yang, she tapped her shoulder and the Faunus turned around. She had finished changing and stood there in a pair of black shorts and a baggy orange top. She looked tired, maybe she always had but just hid it throughout the day. The blonde held her scroll in her one hand.

  
“Look as I said, I want to keep an eye in you so you’ll be sleeping in my room. If your behaviour improves and I can learn to trust you, I’ll give you more freedom but as it stands this is the arraignment.” She pressed a button the screen of her scroll, this one different to the shock function. The collar Blake wore contained a variety of Dust, all controlled and usable by the scroll for various different circumstances. Yang had just activated the gravity dust inside of it which made it as heavy as lead for Blake and that meant she was unlikely to go anywhere. 

The Faunus struggled to hold the weight up and took it as a sign to lie down. From what she knew it was a common thing for owners to do when they wanted their slaves to sleep. Although why she needed the cuffs when the collar was activated, Blake did not know. It was a little bit of overkill but the Faunus had kind of earned the right for overkill with everything she’d done in her first day. Yang herself climbed onto her own bed and slipped under the covers. She lay on her side facing Blake, her expression unreadable. She’d awakened something in this Faunus, something the Faunus thought died when the war ended. Blake wondered what else her Master would do.

The blonde sighed,  
“Don’t make me regret this.” She said as she reached under her bed and after fumbling with her hand for a bit she produced a blanket. She threw it at the girl, who with her cuffed hands wrapped it around herself. She was a little chilly, even with the clothes Yang had given her but she wouldn’t earnestly say thank you to her, not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably be a slight time jump in the next chapter. Nothing drastic just a few days to a week so Blake can really settle in with Yang and vice versa.
> 
> What do you think so far?


	5. Too Full

The next week went past with an uneasy briskness. Yang wasn’t always looking over shoulder per se but she did keep an eye on Blake. Their arrangement was more akin to an owner and a pet that liked to bite rather than master and slave. It was evident that the Faunus didn’t like her. Because of this the blonde didn’t trust the Faunus when it came to preparing meals and other sensitive tasks. As much as she tried to be a positive person, she didn’t want to ignore the possibility that Blake might try something.

She was sure most slaves didn’t like their master and she was sure that most slave owners would thoroughly punish their slaves if they even thought about trying to hurt them. But Yang didn’t want to punish Blake, she was kid. However this kid had a friend in the White Fang and she herself was probably a child soldier as well. She would know a thing or two about killing people so the blonde had to be cautious.

Yang, for a lack of better words, studied her slave. It occurred to her that the Faunus only had two moods: Anger and Apathy. She would shift between these two mods somewhat randomly. Sometimes she would flip flop between these two throughout the day while other times she would stay as one for a few days on end. It was as equally confusing as it was unnerving. Sometimes the blonde would just see the young girl standing there in her house, zoned out, not focussing on anything.

She’d knock her out of her trance, either by tapping her or calling out to her and each time Blake would jump and get back to doing whatever she was doing. Since the blonde wouldn’t let her do a lot of things that mainly resulted her just cleaning the house and cutting the grass. These two tasks wouldn’t keep the Faunus occupied for the whole day and more often than no she was left white a lot of free time. During this free time she encouraged Blake to talk to her but this had little success. More often than not, the Faunus would simply find a wall to sit against and again, she would just zone out.

As much as Yang should hate the Faunus for all they took from her and her entire race. Her own fucking arm. She pitied the girl. She seemed so utterly defeated. Even when Blake got angry it wasn’t the same as that first time when she attacked her. Each time there was less and less fire in her and truthfully the blonde, didn’t know why, but she was a little scared that said fire might go out completely.

She was as tempted to actively start pushing the girl’s buttons to try and elicit a reaction from her. Just to know she could. But that didn’t feel like a very kind thing to do. Equally she didn’t just want to look up information on her new Faunus, that would defeat the point of getting to know her! Although maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to give her a starting point. The blonde often found herself debating with herself. Should she do it? Should she not? 

It was a warm Sunday afternoon and it was the day that Yang finally got to find out a little more about Blake…

The heat was almost oppressive, truthfully. Patch was having a freak heatwave. All the fire Dust that went off in the previous few years probably had a hand in it, Yang thought bitterly. The two of them were in the backyard. Blake cutting the grass and Yang working out. The Faunus was as silent as ever. She simply pushed the lawnmower through, the admittedly unkept grass. The blonde certainly never had a green finger and found it difficult to operate said lawnmower with only one hand. But the dark haired girl seemed to have some talent, over the last few days she had made the grass a reasonable length, removed the countless weeds and even watered the one or two plants that were salvageable.   
Yang had gone through a phase when she’d just moved in. In attempt to stave off boredom she’d taken up many activities and projects. One of which was growing her own strawberries. However she’d often forget to water them but luckily for her, Blake was here now.

She could handle the plants while the blonde haired woman focussed on what she wanted to focus on. Right now that was some good old fashioned functional strength training. She would never let the lack of one appendage stop her, if anything that only encouraged her to work more. Sure she was…down in the dumps when she first lost her arm, a time Yang never liked thinking about. But now, she was ready to take on the whole world. She did one armed push ups, weighted lunges, tire throwing, a shit tonne of cardio and even more. When she went back to Beacon and resumed her Huntress studies, no one, not even, Pyrrha was going to be fitter than her. 

The blonde threw the tractor tire for a tenth and final rep within her fifth set. She chuckled and sat down on a cut patch of grass. She grabbed her nearby water bottle and took a sip. Only a week ago, she struggled with four sets and look at her now. And those four sets were without the three laps of her property as well! She was a machine! When her new arm came, she’d be damn near unstoppable. Yang smiled at that thought and took another sip of water. After a few minutes of just idly day dreaming, the blonde looked over at the dark haired girl. Blake was just about finished. The weeds had been pulled, the hedges had been trimmed and of course the grass had been completely cut. The Faunus had done a damn good job. Did Masters usually thank their slaves? Screw it, she would. 

“Great job Blake!” She called out, once again, genuinely trying to be friendly. The Faunus, didn’t verbally respond. She just turned off the lawnmower and looked over at Yang, her face unreadable. She then turned back around to the lawnmower and began pushing it towards the shed. The blonde haired woman sighed. She had recently began to think that maybe, just maybe her idea of getting along pleasantly was a pipe dream. Part of her told her that it was crazy, Human and Faunus didn’t get along, the war had proven that. Maybe she should just be like all the other’s and make her slave obey her with force. Force her to talk to her. Force her to get along with her. But then a bigger part, a better part told her that easy things were never usually the right ones. Yang took another sip of water and looked up at the sky. She could always try again later.

If there was one fault to the property given to the blonde by the Schnees, it would be the shed. It was simply too small and too poorly kept. Maybe it was because there were borderline too many tools or maybe it was because the rest of the property was to such a high standard, it was a conversion from an old building that had been destroyed during the war after all.

Blake, with a huff, pushed the lawnmower over a small ridge that sat just before the door of the shed. The old, decrepit, wooden structure stood there like an old angry man. It’s sharp pointed roof, riddled with holes and no doubt a few wood lice pointed up to the sky defiantly. It looked like it actively wanted to give you splinters. The Faunus grabbed the handle of the door, which occasion would get stuck but luckily this time pulled open relatively easily. However once it did open, Blake was left with a gust of the thick, dusty air which made her cough and her eyes water. The sun light shone in and illuminated the inside revealing all the tools and machinery any one could ever need. Everything from a selection of sheers to an old Atlas drone, that had been modified for farming. A drone that still made the dark haired girl’s skin crawl. It was only your average sized shed as well, maybe even a little on the small side. There was no reason for all this to be here, other than the Schnee’s to show off how much they had. And to leave it in such a shed, in her option in such a clumsy way, was fitting.

They were rich but shallow. Never taking the time to think.  
They should have replaced the shed. Or at east not put so much inside. Blake slowly pushed the lawnmower in the only space left in the shed. It was a squash and a squeeze, as she moved it between a collection of shovels and the wheelbarrow. Accidentally, the Faunus knocked over a shovel which started a chain reaction. The shovel knocked into a watering can which caught a pair of sheers that then sent a rack of trowels topping over. This caused enough force for the old Atlas drone, which was sitting lazily on a box next to Blake, to fall on her.

It was heavy and she yelped as its heavy metal frame brought her to the ground. It’s force made the whole shed shudder. The door slammed shut, plunging the inside into darkness and any remaining tools clattered and fell around and on top of her. The special thing about the Faunus compared to Humans was there advanced ocular abilities. They essentially had night vision meaning darkness was never a problem. 

But Blake wasn’t fine. She couldn’t move. She was pinned. She could see everything that lying on and laying on top of her. It made the already small space even smaller. And smaller. And smaller. And smaller. The walls were closing in. She couldn’t control her breathing. She couldn’t. 

She started screaming.

Yang jumped to her feet when she heard the screams. She’d heard a few knocks in the shed had and just assumed that Blake had just bumped into to something but whatever was causing the usual quiet girl to scream must have been serious. Despite the post workout exhaustion, she sprinted over. As soon as the got the door of the shed, she wrapped he done hand around the handle and threw it open. She expected the worst, Blake bleeding badly from cutting herself on the chainsaw or maybe even a small Grimm that had broken inside attacking her!

Instead, she found the dark haired girl, pinned under Buddy, the old Atlas drone she named when she first discovered it in here and a few shovels and sheers. There didn’t seem to be any blood and although the drone was a little heavy, it wouldn’t break any bones or anything. Yet Blake looked terrified, tears flooded down her face and her hands and eyes moved around erratically like she was desperately searching for a way out that wasn’t there. All the while, she screamed. Initially, she thought the worst and the blonde believed that perhaps one of the sharper gardening tools was stabbing her and she was obviously unable to get up and remove it due to weight on top of her. Yang bent down and even with one arm, she was immensely strong. She lifted off Buddy and the other tools that were on top of him and before she could even ask Blake where the wound was, the girl had scrambled out of the shed.

The Faunus had collapsed just outside in the sun. Her hands digging into the grass and dirt for support. She curled up into the feral position. Her screaming stopped, only to be replaced. By shaking. And sobbing.

Yang clearly saw no blood. Hardly even a few scrapes and bruises. She let Buddy drop back on the ground and studied the shed. No Grimm, no nothing. She looked over at Blake. Then she looked over at the shed again. Faunus could see in the dark…so that couldn’t have been the thing to set her off. She walked over and gently got on her knees beside the crying girl. Her head whipped back to look at the stuffy and over filled shed. 

Could it be? 

Yang didn’t touch Blake. She didn’t want to set her off even more. Instead, she did what she did with her little sister back when they were kids. Back when Ruby would come crying into her room after she’d had a nightmare and want to spend the night in her bed. Back then she’d always know what the problem was but she’d ask her all the same in the most caring voice she could. She always let her little sister explain and listen to her problem. Those simpler days brought a smile to Yang’s face. Anyway, even though she wasn’t a hundred percent sure with what went wrong with Blake, she had. A pretty good idea. She was willing to take the risk of being wrong.

“Blake.” She asked softly, leaning down slightly so the girl could hear her better. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Nothing. No response. Just more shaking and sobbing, albeit the sobbing was a little more quiet. Time to make her educated guess. 

“Blake, are you claustrophobic?” This got an instant reaction. One of the girl’s eyes looked up and stared directly at Yang. It was filled with such an intensity, one that reminded her of the time Blake had attacked her. But instead of fury there was fear. The blond had her answer. Before she could do anything else, the Faunus sat up. She still held herself in a ball. Still shaking, now hyperventilating. She was whispering. Whispering quickly. Whispering madly. Whispering painfully. The same sorrowful almost mantra.

“I’m underground. I’m underground. I’m underground. It’s gone off and I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. The dirt’s filled my mouth. It’s there, it’s there. I can’t taste it. Save me. Please. Please. Please.”

She said this again and again. Yang had to strain her ears to pick it up and try and understand it. But she could piece it together. It broke her heart.

“Blake. You are safe.” She spoke slowly. Blake. I’m going to touch you, is that okay?” The Faunus was still raving. No definite answer. But sometimes you didn’t need an answer when you knew what to do. Like water of a quiet and shallow stream, Yang slowly and gently wrapped her arm around the girl, embracing her. 

The Faunus grabbed onto her roughly. Again not out of anger or hatred. But just out of instinct. Out of a need to grab something in order to not feel so scared and alone. She seemed so much younger like this or more realistically, she seemed like her actually age as oppose to her usually weary soled self. Yang could hardly believe that the girl she was holding now was the same girl that attacked her last week. The seething Faunus was now trembling like she’d seen the gates of hell open up in front of her.

There was much to Blake, Yang concluded. Even though she would probably shake her off as soon as she flamed down and regained control. Even though she might attack her again. And even though a moment such as this one may never happen again, it was still happening. The dark haired girl’s walls were lowered. She needed some support, she needed Yang. That meant it was possible. Possible for the blonde and her to get along. She thought of the future and it filled her with joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update. But I really wanted to get this chapter right. Plus I write smut quicker than actual attempted storytelling like this.
> 
> All the best  
> 2Wedensay

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t approve of slavery. I think it’s disgusting but I think RWBY offers such a great AU for a slave society and I couldn’t pass up the idea once it came into my head. I think this is going to be quite long story so as long as I can write it, I hope you’ll all read it.
> 
> All the best  
> 2Wedensay.


End file.
